A Laboratory Prototype of a Dust-Impact Mass Analyzer for the Interhelioprobe Mission

Resumo

A laboratory prototype of the dust-impact PIPLS-A mass analyzer for the Interhelioprobe mission has been developed. This instrument is intended to study particles of interplanetary and interstellar dust and to determine their main characteristics: the mass, the velocity components, and the elemental and isotope composition. A computer simulation of the dust-impact mass spectrometer has been performed. A design model of the instrument and a workstation for testing PIPLS-A instruments have been created. A laboratory prototype of the instrument was manufactured and tested, and the analysis of the test results is presented.